2. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to customer premise devices (CPDs) capable of providing new and enhanced information-related services to consumers. Specifically, customer premise equipment designed in accordance with the present invention provides customers with the ability to send diverse subscriber requests and to receive and process incoming information. The content of the information translated by the CPD can be of any type, and can include movies, video games and other entertainment programs, educational information and programs, scientific and other research-related database information, business and consumer information, and the like (hereinafter, "information", "services" or "titles").
2. Description of the Related Art
Consumer demand for enhanced on-site entertainment and other information services is on the rise. Examples of such information services include so-called "on-demand" video, interactive video games, database research, "home-shopping", etc. Numerous service providers are currently eager to tap this demand, and are therefore expressing interest in schemes for providing such services to consumers. The efforts currently being expended by service providers, as well as the current state of progress in this field of technology are described, e.g., in TIME Magazine, Apr. 12, 1993, at 49ff., and Newsweek, May 31, 1993, at 39ff.
In order to be economically practical and viable, a system offering the wide range of information-related services just described should preferably be able to (i) permit access to large volumes of data (i.e., to a large number of titles), (ii) service a large number of consumers, and (iii) transfer data (i.e., titles) to the end user quickly, preferably in "real time". Further, the consensus prefers a system arranged as a centralized facility capable of communicating with remote stations (e.g., homes, offices, public gathering locations, etc.) via existing or next-generation communications media.
Particular on-going efforts related to the present invention include a system being developed by Broadband Technologies. General elements of the Broadband Technologies system, as understood, are illustrated in FIG. 9. As shown, a subscriber's remote location 901 is connected over a standard telecommunications network 902 to a central facility 903. The central facility 903 awaits service requests from its subscribers.
When a given subscriber wishes to view a selection (e.g., a movie), he or she places a telephone call to the central facility 903 using a standard telephone 904. The call is routed via standard telephone switches 905 (e.g., EO and AT switches) over the telephone voice path of a standard telephone line 906 (e.g., 24-gauge twisted pair copper wire). The telephone call is directed to a Voice Response Unit (VRU) 907 located in the central facility. The VRU forwards the subscriber request to an on-site attendant 908, e.g., through a paper printout. The operator 908 reviews the request, then retrieves the requested selection from an in-house library 909. Finally, the operator 908 locates an available playback unit 910 in a playback battery 911 and loads and plays the selection accordingly.
The output signal of the playback unit 910 is supplied to an interface unit 912 coupled between the playback unit 910 and the VRU 907 in the central facility 903. The interface 912 compresses the signal received and forwards the compressed signal via the VRU 907 to the telephone voice path of the telephone line 906. From there, the signal is routed to the subscriber's telephone 904 at the remote station 901. A further interface 913 retrieves the signal, decompresses it, and passes it to the subscriber's television set 914.
As such, the Broadband Technologies system succeeds in providing an adequate transfer of video data over existing switches and transmission lines. The signal received at the remote location 901 corresponds in quality approximately to that of a conventional slow-play VHS mode signal. Furthermore, this system, while not truly "interactive", does provide limited system responses to remotely transmitted user requests. However, the system suffers under a range of inefficiencies, limitations on size and flexibility, and limitations on interactiveness. Finally, the system must be directly linked to the subscriber's telephone 904, thereby monopolizing the telephone line.
An additional pilot system being developed, known as the AT&T Leesburg Project, overcomes at least some of the problems noted above. General elements of the Leesburg system, as understood, are illustrated in FIG. 10. As apparent from the figure, the Leesburg system is very similar to the Broadband Technologies system, except that the request and response signals are not routed via standard telephone lines. Instead, the request and the response transmission are routed between the remote location 1001 and the central facility 1003 via a fiber-optic cable system 1002.
In operation, a subscriber request is initiated via a customized telephone or control unit 1004 connected to a special cable converter box 1013 installed at the remote location 1001. The request is transmitted over the fiber system 1002 to a Voice Response Unit (VRU) 1007 located at the central facility 1003.
The operations at the central facility are the same as those described above with respect to the Broadband Technologies system, except that the output signal of the playback unit 1010 is supplied to an interface unit 1012 directly coupled to the fiber system 1002. The special cable converter box 1013 at the remote end retrieves the signal and passes it on to the subscriber's television 1014.
Since the Leesburg system benefits from the larger data transmission capacity of fiber-optics over standard copper wire (approx. 150 Mbits/sec versus approx. 1.5 Mbits/sec), the resulting quality of the data signal is enhanced relative to that of the signal delivered by the Broadband Technologies system. Moreover, this system does not monopolize the subscriber's telephone line. However, this system fails to overcome the other problems noted, namely inefficiency, limitations on size and flexibility, and limitations on interactiveness. Also, it requires a system of fiber-optic cable dedicated to the uses described above, to be laid and maintained, contributing immensely to the cost of the overall system.
FIG. 11 schematically illustrates yet another ongoing effort in the field of information services. This system, being developed by EON Corp. (formerly, TV Answer), is a wireless communications service. At the remote station 1101, a personal TV unit 1102 is connected directly with the subscriber's television 1103. Other home entertainment devices, e.g., a VCR 1104 can also be connected to the unit 1102. A remote control 1105 allows the subscriber to access icons and menus in order to select programs and services. Once the subscriber has input a request, the unit 1102 emits a broadcast signal over an allocated radio channel to a cell site 1106. The cell site 1106, in turn, communicates with a geostationary satellite 1107 linking the cell site and a central switch 1108. The switch 1108 performs network control, security, and transaction routing. The subscriber request is then forwarded via satellite 1107 to the service provider 1109 offering the service requested by the subscriber. The request is processed by the provider, and the service response is then transmitted to the subscriber's location 1101 along an appropriate return path. Once received at the subscriber's station 1101, the incoming information is decrypted by the unit 1102 and forwarded to the television 1103. While this system is designed to enable interactive communications, its use of radio communications places a limit on the amount of data, and thus services, that can be transmitted. Further, the personal TV unit 1102 houses all of the intelligence required to process and route the subscriber requests and service responses. This necessitates high-speed processing capabilities and significant on-site memory capacity, which translates into very high manufacturing costs for each individual personal TV unit 1102.